Fuel Cell reactions monitored at Nanoscale
2 January 2012Researchers from United States and Ukraine have now observed and described the reactions inside fuel cells in Nanoscale. The findings of the research team have come in the form of a paper in the journal Nature Chemistry. For explaining the new innovation, researchers from US and Ukraine has devised a new microscopy technique.
Fuel cells consists of two electrodes separated by ion conductor and these are coming up fast in many hybrid vehicles to produce energy from hydrogen, where hydrogen is converted to electrical energy. Actually the energy or electrical energy is produced by transfer of ions between the electrodes and an expensive material, platinum is used as catalyst.
The electron transfer mechanism and the role of platinum plays the key role and the oxygen reduction process determines the longevity and efficiency of fuel cells. Dr. Francesco Ciucci, a renowned mathematician has developed ESM (Electrochemical Strain Microscopy), a new microscopy technique that can monitor the ion transfer at nanoscale and while studying researchers found that the platinum catalyst up to 50 nanometer thick layer doesn’t allow equal degree of ion transfer.
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